Economics

Economics at NUI Galway provides a flourishing and diverse academic environment which integrates teaching and research, theory and empirical applications, in a policy-oriented and interdisciplinary way. There are approximately 1,800 undergraduate students of economics across several colleges, but mainly in the College of Business, Public Policy, and Law and in the College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences.

Alan Ahearne to chair ESRI/Department of Finance research group

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Professor Alan Ahearne, Head of Economics at NUI Galway, has been appointed Chairman of the steering committee governing the newly launched Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Department of Finance Joint Research Programme on the Macro-economy and Taxation.
Under the programme – the objective of which is to undertake and disseminate research on various macroeconomic and taxation issues in Ireland - researchers from the ESRI will work alongside officials from the Department of Finance on various research projects. The programme will run for two years.
Research topics are likely to include:
research on aspects of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting initiative;
analysis of FDI spillover effects;
research on UK-Ireland macroeconomic links in the context of joint membership of the EU;
analysis of petrol and diesel markets in Ireland; and
macroeconomic and tax modelling.
All research will be published. The joint collaboration between the Department and the ESRI was announced by the Minister for Finance at the Department’s conference on International Taxation and Economic Growth last October.
Further details of the programme are available here.

Vacancy for Research Assistant in Health Economics

Friday, 16 January 2015

Research Assistant in Health Economics
We have been asked to prepare a cost of illness study for a particular illness in Ireland.
The objectives of the study are
Estimate the full direct costs of the illness for the Irish health care system, including the cost of diagnosis, treatment and the associated complications. Direct costs will include any screening or testing treatment and management, including primary care, secondary care, drugs, etc., as well as any complications
Estimate the societal costs of the illness in Ireland in relation to the loss of productivity as a result of increased mortality and morbidity associated with the illness as well as any costs associated with carers.
The work will include
Literature search and review;
Identification and assessment of the available data sources;
Model the costs including estimates of future cost burden.
The project will take 12 weeks and the gross pay will be €450 per week.
If you are interested please email a CV to Brendan Kennelly (brendan.kennelly@nuigalway.ie) by 5 p.m. on Monday, January 19th. Interviews will be held at NUI Galway on January 23rd.

Economics timetables for Semester II

Thursday, 8 January 2015

Timetables for Semester II 2014/15 i.e., beginning 12th January 2015, are now online:
View timetables
Note that in particular, the 3BA1 (Economics) timetables have been revised from versions made available last September, and that these changes carry through to 4BA1 etc.
However, there are no changes to earlier versions of the timetables for 1BA1 (Economics) and 2BA1 (Economics).
There have also been some revisions to timetables for taught postgrad programmes, i.e. for:
M.Econ.Sc. Economic Policy Evaluation & Planning - Year 2 (part-time)
M.Sc. Health Economics - Year 1 (part-time)
M.Sc. Health Economics (full-time)
M.Econ.Sc. Natural Resource Economics & Policy
M.Econ.Sc. International Finance
H.Dip.Econ.Sc. Stream A
H.Dip.Econ.Sc. Stream B
For details, see:
Timetables and other current student information.
Enquiries to economics@nuigalway.ie

New book: "The Economics of Disability - Insights from Irish Research"

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

A new book, "The Economics of Disability - Insights from Irish Research", co-edited by Dr. John Cullinan of Economics at NUI Galway, and published by Manchester University Press, brings together research relating to the economics of disability in Ireland.
It addresses a range of issues of relevance to the economic circumstances of people with disabilities, considering topics such as social inclusion, poverty, the labour market, living standards and public policy. It also considers issues of specific relevance to children, working-age adults and older people with disabilities, providing important evidence that can help improve disability policies, services and supports. Each chapter presents a clear and relatively non-technical treatment of the specific topic under consideration, making it accessible to a greater number of interested readers. In doing so, it provides an important addition to our knowledge and understanding of the economics of disability and will serve as a useful and up-to-date resource for a range of interested parties both in Ireland and internationally.
More details here

Pricing healthcare conference at NUI Galway

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

The Health Economics and Policy Analysis research group at NUI Galway organised a very successful conference on ‘Pricing Healthcare: The role of health economics evaluation in the emerging healthcare landscape in Ireland’ in the Aula Maxima on November 4, 2014.
In any healthcare system dominated by public expenditure a critical question arises as to what healthcare should be provided. There are a host of competing demands across disease areas, across care levels, across population groups and across social classes. All of them have strong arguments that the particular intervention that they advocate should be funded. But resources are limited so the question arises as to how should a society decide on which particular elements of healthcare should be prioritized?
This was the key question addressed at the conference which was jointly organised with Novartis one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. The conference featured presentations from leading health economists in the UK and Ireland as well as contributions from the main stakeholders in the healthcare sector such as the pharmaceutical industry, clinicians, and private health insurance companies. The conference was also addressed by representatives from the key decision making agencies in Ireland in this area such as the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and the National Centre for Pharmaeconomics (NCPE).
The Health Economics and Policy Analysis research group, which comprises about twenty academics, researchers and PhD students, conducts a wide range of research and has particular expertise in disease areas such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, stroke and mental health. The group works closely with clinical researchers in the School of Medicine at NUI Galway and elsewhere and with leading health economists around the world.
For more information about the conference please contact Brendan Kennelly at brendan.kennelly@nuigalway.ie.
Health Economics and Policy Analysis Group

Economics at NUI Galway has a key role in major new SFI research centre

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Professor Ciaran O’Neill and Paddy Gillespie of Economics at NUI Galway will play a key role in the development of a new Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research centre at NUI Galway. The Centre for Research in Medical Devices (CÚRAM) at NUI Galway is of one of five major new national research centres that will be established by a major investment by the Government in scientific research that is closely aligned to industry and enterprise needs, job opportunities and societal goals.
A total of €155 million of Irish exchequer funding will be invested in the new world class research centres of scale. The new funding will be delivered through SFI’s Research Centres Programme coupled with over €90 million in contributions from industry partners.
The prime objective for CÚRAM, which will be developed under the leadership of Lead Principal Investigator Professor Abhay Pandit and Co-Principal Investigators Professor Tim O’Brien, Professor David Brayden and Professor Lokesh Joshi, will be to improve health outcomes for patients by developing innovative implantable medical devices to treat major unmet medical needs.
Professor Ciaran O’Neill and Paddy Gillespie of Economics at NUI Galway will lead the health economic component of the centre’s research output. In particular, the health economic analysis will: “Develop and apply valid cost effectiveness models for emerging medical devices in the Irish healthcare sector and internationally”. To this end, in the near future the Health Economics and Policy Analysis group at NUI Galway will be seeking to hire a postdoctoral researcher in the area of economic evaluation of medical device technology.
Read more about:
The Heallth Economics and Policy Analysis group at NUI Galway
NUI Galway's participation in €245m investment in new SFI research centres

European Commission highlight work by SEMRU

Monday, 20 October 2014

The work of researchers in SEMRU (the Socio-Economic Marine Research Unit) at NUI Galway has been highlighted in the latest (October 2014) issue of Science for Environment Policy, published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General Environment.
This regular publication provides a comprehensive look at the latest science policy topics, and is designed to “help policymakers keep up-to-date with the latest environmental research findings needed to design, implement and regulate effective policies”.
The summary report on the SEMRU research can be downloaded here.